Fourteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The photo essay contains eight photos I took on my trip to the Philippines in early April, 2019. I took hundreds of photos on this trip as a street photographer to get an authentic feel of the local scene. When I examined the final 12-photo set after the culling process, I suddenly realized that eight of the 12 photos are about either street children (3), children at work (1), children at play near or in a slump (2) or children in general (2). I didn’t start out with an agenda to do a theme on street children; the fact that I ended up with this theme says as much about my personal aesthetics in street photography as about the condition of the children in the local society. I’m visiting Indonesia in early May and will focus on this street-children theme for a comparison with the Philippines. Regardless of the final number of photos in the final set, I’ll write a few concise sentences for each photo. The purpose is more to show, then tell. Pictures of street children are no news. However, the issue glares at you as an affluent tourist from an affluent society. Particularly in the age of selfie and Instagram, art has the opportunity and responsibility to do something about it and change it.